Letter: Fuss over sheriff's role in prayer breakfast unwarranted

Every now and then the cauldron of discontent and controversy is dragged from the back burner where it has been simmering and is placed on the front burner where it is once again stirred into life.

In this case the guy stirring the pot is Joe Beck, who leads a group calling itself Humanists of the Treasure Coast. It seems that Beck objects to having the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office printing fliers announcing the annual Vero Beach Prayer Breakfast.

If I read Zaimarie DeGuzman’s article correctly, he is upset because the Sheriff’s Office is listed as one of the sponsors for the event and Sheriff Deryl Loar gave the opening statement. In doing so the Sheriff’s Office is allegedly in violation of Article 1, Section 3, of the Florida Constitution, which states “No state revenue should indirectly or indirectly aid any church or religious denomination.”

Come on, Is this really something to lose sleep over?

I guess it is because Beck wanted to make sure he was on solid ground and thus enlisted the opinion of another group called the National Secular Advocacy group Center for Inquiry. The center’s director, Nicholas Little, sided with Beck and stated, “This isn’t a religious event that’s providing suits to the homeless to enable them to look for jobs.”

Huh? Makes you wonder if these two fellas are on the same page. The solution is simple: Eliminate the Sheriff’s Office name from the fliers and have Sheriff Loar give the opening statement in civilian clothes. By now we all know who prints the fliers. We are surely aware of the Sheriff’s Office role in the event and we all know who Sheriff Loar is.